The Peninsula Manila’s “44th Anniversary White Shirt”: A Cool Step to Reducing Energy Consumption

As part of its efforts to help the Philippine hospitality industry get back on its feet in the wake of the global pandemic, The Peninsula Manila launched “Save Energy for the Philippines.” The campaign commences on October 26, 2020, and  is a sustainable initiative targeting a reduction in energy consumption. 

“Save Energy for the Philippines” will have  hotel staff sporting “Cool Business” attire uniforms, the first international luxury hotel in Manila to ever do so. Without compromising on guest experience, staff wearing custom-made white polo shirts with The Peninsula Manila’s “44th Anniversary” logo (see below) will allow the hotel to reduce its energy and water consumption in laundering uniform jackets and dress shirts, as well as permitting office space temperatures to be raised and thus reducing the need for air conditioning.

Additional efforts include replacing more than 1,000 halogen and incandescent guest room lamps with LED lights, thereby reducing the energy demand by 60%. This initiative will generate an estimated annual saving of P 800,000 in electricity costs, and 538.27 GJ of energy, which is equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of nearly 750 Philippine households. 

To ensure the lighting quality will create no adverse impact on guest experience, the hotel has commissioned a supplier to tailor-make all LED lights, and conducted extensive trials before installation.

Since 2009, The Peninsula Manila has also used LED lights on The Lobby’s stunning Christmas Tree that traditionally signals the start of the holiday season in the city. The 45-foot-tall tree takes a week to install and is the result of a year-long planning process. 

Thoughtfully designed with reusable materials, the tree was lit once again on October 27, 2020 to signal the start of the 2020 festive season.

With the substantial environmental and financial benefits of limiting energy use, The Peninsula Manila believes that these energy efficiency measures can play an essential part in helping the hotel industry navigate a sustainable path through these challenging times into the future.